End Game
by A Tragic Galaxy
Summary: Link watched him swing her around the room. Saw them kiss. Heard the announcement. He knew in that moment that he had lost Zelda forever. Little did he know his burst of anger would cause the death of another smasher.


It was a cold and rainy day when the announcement was made. The announcement that would change life at the Smash Mansion forever. Especially for Link.

It was stormy outside. Flashes of lightning lit up the sky and peals of thunder boomed loud enough to shake the walls. The rain was pouring in earnest, as though it desired to flood the entire area in merely a few hours or less.

Pit was hiding behind a chair, and he flinched as an exceptionally loud thunderclap knocked a picture off the wall. Peach glanced at him and smiled encouragingly before returning to the game of Monopoly she was playing with Dr. Mario, Falcon, Ganondorf, Marth, and Fox. Link was watching the game from his position next to the door. He frequently peered out into the pouring rain as though looking for someone. This began to get on Roy's nerves, and he finally threw down the book he had been pretending to read (he'd really been daydreaming of Samus behind it) and demanded,

"Why in the world do you keep looking outside? You're starting to make me nervous, as though something bad is about to happen!"

The monopoly players looked up in surprise and Samus smoothly flipped down from her perch on a tall cabinet so as to better decipher what was going on. Link flushed from all the attention he was suddenly receiving, then answered in a "no biggie" tone,

"Nothing. I was just wondering where Ike and Zelda were at."

The other smashers looked around in surprise as they realized that neither of the two smashers were to be seen.

"Hey, Link's right," Roy commented suspiciously, "I haven't seen either of them since….this morning I think."

Samus smiled knowingly. "No, neither have I. And I think I know where they went."

The smashers looked at her expectantly, but Samus simply smiled and turned her attention to the game. "So who's winning?"

"Wait," Link interrupted, "So you think you know where Ike and Zelda are?"

Samus dipped her head in confirmation.

"Where?" the Hylian asked.

Samus shook her head, still grinning. "You'll find out." Then she returned to lecturing Gannondorf on his game strategy and ignored Link's further protests.

Pit zipped out from behind the chair and flew to Peach, cringing as another peal of thunder crashed nearby.

"Pit is scared. Pit wonders if Ike and Zelda is okay," he said worriedly.

Peach patted the little angel's head. Sometimes Pit reminded her so much of a child that Peach almost felt like a mother to him. "They'll be fine," she said matter-of-factly.

"Yea. And even ifa they aren't, Docta Mario willa taka good care a them," Dr. Mario said reassuringly as he smugly accepted $2000 from a grumpy Marth as the blue haired swordsman landed on Boardwalk for the third time. Marth had started out as the richest player at the beginning of the game, but that title was swiftly being handed to his newest archrival, Dr. Mario.

Pit shivered again and dove back behind the chair. Link frowned and shifted position slightly as he continued to gaze out the window. Then he spotted them.

Ike and Zelda ran laughing up the wet pathway, seemingly oblivious to the drenching rain. Link hurriedly opened the door and raced to Zelda, concerned. She ran right past him however, leaving the Hylian warrior on the doorstep, confused.

Ike grabbed Zelda around the waist as soon as they entered the mansion and twirled her around the room, spraying water drops everywhere, including on the Monopoly board and the now wet, irritated players. Pit jumped out from behind the chair and hugged Zelda as soon as Ike put her down.

"Pit is so happy you are safe. Pit was very worried. Pit thought you might be hurt!"

Zelda laughed and quickly reassured the little angel that both she and Ike were fine.

"In fact," Ike broke in, "We're better than fine."

He smiled at Zelda knowingly, and, flushing with delight, the princess stretched out her right hand for the smashers to see. A delicate diamond ring daintily adorned Zelda's ring finger.

"I knew it!" Samus cried out. "Let me guess, he proposed to you during the storm?"

Zelda nodded. "We were both pretty well drenched by the time he managed to fish it out of his pocket. I thought he'd lost his marbles when he handed me this."

So saying she drew out a crude looking, lumpy iron hoop of metal. It was hollow, and was hinged in a way so that when opened, it would have revealed the engagement ring inside.

"He even kneeled when I opened it," Zelda said with a small giggle. "Right there on the soggy ground."

"Got mud stains on my pants while I was at it," Ike commented with a fake mournful look on his face as he examined the soiled knees of his trousers. Then he grinned and he and Zelda shared a light kiss.

"So when's the big date?" Peach asked excitedly.

"Right after the tournament's over," Ike answered.

Roy looked up in surprise. "But the tournament is tomorrow!"

Zelda and Ike smiled at each other. "The sooner the better," Zelda said.

No one noticed how Link's face fell when he heard the news. And no one saw him leave the room, his shoulder's hunched in despair.

_I thought you loved me, Zelda. And I thought you knew that I felt the same. _Link wandered the halls dejectedly until he found himself in the smash control room.

"I heard the noise upstairs."

Link jumped as the Master Hand spoke.

"Is something going on?" the Master Hand asked.

"Ike and Zelda just got engaged," Link answered in a miserable tone.

"Really? Well I must go and congratulate them." The Master Hand quickly swept off without further ado.

Link stayed behind and stared dully at the smash safety equipment. _"So when's the big date?" _Peach's question stabbed painfully in his mind. _"Right after the tournament's over."_

_Right after the tournament's over. Right after the tournament's over. Right after the tournament's over._

The words burned into Link's brain as they repeated themselves over and over again.

_Right after the tournament's over. Right after the tournament's over. Right after the tournament's over. Right after the…_

Link shouted out in rage and despair and kicked at the safety controls box. All he managed to accomplish was a sore foot and not even a dent in the equipment to show for it. Link slumped against the control box and put his head in his hands. So this was it then. Zelda was going to be married, and to Ike. Link was no longer in the picture. Perhaps he never was. He had only been fooling himself, believing that Zelda loved him.

Link stumbled to his feet, overcome with emotion. He swiped another kick at the control box, blaming all his troubles on the tournament. Then he ran from the room, slamming the door behind him.

He didn't notice the green safety light switch to red, and then go dark completely as the smasher shields were turned off.

For years afterward, the Master Hand would detest himself for his mistake. Believing all to be well, he neglected to check the safety controls the next morning, just before the tournament began.

……………………………………..

"And for our first contestants, we have Ike vs. Zelda!"

The smashers cheered as the two fiancés entered the stage. Zelda smiled and blew Ike a kiss, and then the fighting began. Link turned away as they started. Though he had resigned himself to his fate, he still couldn't bring himself to watch the two. The other smashers however, got a full view of what happened next.

Ike won the first strike with a light punch he sent Zelda's way. She responded in a not so gentle manner, first punching him in both arms and his right leg, and then throwing him unceremoniously into the wall. Ike laughed and jumped right up again, raising his sword and lunging as he prepared to blast Zelda off the platform. Zelda quickly sidestepped and clipped Ike's chin with a well-aimed kick. What happened next was a disaster. Zelda spun around, took her Sheik form, and ducked as Ike swung his blade toward her head. Grabbing three darts, she threw them one right after the other at Ike as he ran towards her again. Suddenly Ike faltered and clutched at his stomach. Stumbling forward, he dropped his sword with a clatter and fell to the ground. Sheik stared for a moment then ran to her fallen fiancé. Quickly resuming her Zelda form, she gently turned Ike over and cried out as she saw blood staining his shirt.

"Game!" the announcer called in a horrified tone, and immediately the stage closed.

Zelda gently lifted Ike so that his head and shoulders rested on her lap. Ike looked up blearily, his pain-filled eyes dazed and confused. Dr. Mario ran forward and examined the swordsman, then shook his head.

Zelda shook her head in disbelief. "No, no he can't be." She screamed out in panic, "He's not going to die!" Then she broke down in tears.

The other smashers gathered around sorrowfully when they saw the tragedy. Pit burst into tears and flew to Ike.

"Ike can't die. Ike has to marry Zelda!" Pit shook his head wildly and cried harder as Dr. Mario tried to pull him away.

Link looked on in horror. He had hated Ike for winning Zelda's heart, but he had never wanted him killed! He longed to take Zelda into his arms and reassure her that everything was going to be okay, but he knew it wasn't going to be. And it never would.

Zelda chocked on a sob and ran a hand through Ike's blue hair as she saw his once bright eyes dim. Ike blinked a few times, as though he was having trouble focusing, and then with an effort reached up and touched Zelda's tear-stained face with one finger.

"I l-lo-ve…" he never finished his sentence. Ike's eyes closed for the final time, and his head fell back as his body went limp in Zelda's arms.

"Nooooo!!!" Zelda screamed and clutched Ike's body to herself. Pit cried out in disbelief and flew from the room. Most of the other smashers left the room, each trying to come to terms with the tragedy in their own way. A few stayed behind to try and comfort Zelda, but eventually they too left. Only one person stayed behind.

Link slowly stood up from the shadows where he had been watching. Tears tracked down his face as enormity of what had happened hit him. He softly walked over to Zelda and knelt down beside her, placing an arm around her shoulders. She clutched him tightly and they both cried for a time. Finally Link helped Zelda to her feet and led her away from her fiancé's body. Zelda left meekly enough. She was too numb to do anything otherwise.

Link sat outside Zelda's door that night, guarding it to make sure she didn't leave to try and return to Ike's body. He heard her cry until almost four o'clock in the morning when she finally fell into a troubled sleep.

Link's head sunk down in despair. Yesterday she had been so happy, and Ike had been alive. How could things have changed so drastically in one day? Would laughter ever fill the smash mansion again like it did just the day before Ike died? He couldn't understand, and he was too numb to try. So he just sat there, waiting for morning, if morning would ever come.

* * *

They buried Ike the next day. Zelda never shed a tear during the funeral. Her tears had been spent the night before. Even years later, she never cried. Link never questioned her about it.

Link and Zelda married eventually. They had a simple, quiet ceremony, and a simple, quiet honeymoon. When their first son was born, Zelda insisted that he was to be named Ike. Link didn't argue.

Roy and Samus also married a few years after Ike's death. Marth enjoyed teasing Roy that if he had simply talked to Samus more than he had gazed at her, the two could have been married long before. Roy retaliated by naming his daughter Martha, and ever after he taunted Marth about the fact that his namesake was a girl.

Mario of course married Peach, and continued his life as a plumber with Luigi.

Ganondorf became a favorite "Uncle" to Link and Zelda's children, and was often caught red-handed as he tried to teach the younger ones dark magic.

Pit rarely smiled after Ike's death. Peach could sometimes coax a ghost of a smile onto the angel's face, but Pit never laughed again. He was seldom seen around the mansion, but always flitted from shadow to shadow and did his best to stay hidden from sight.

As for the Master Hand, he never forgave himself for neglecting to check the safety controls before starting the match, and he left the smash mansion soon after.

Link never knew that he had been the one to turn off the safety switch in the first place. If he had, it would have broken him.

As for the rest of the smashers, they dealt with their grief and moved on as best they could, but things were never the same again. The smashers were a tightly knit group, and when Ike died, a part of the others died with him.

Years after Ike's death, Link often found himself gazing at the hill where the smasher had been buried, still wondering how life could change have changed so quickly for all of them, and would laughter ever fill the smash mansion halls again like it did just the day before Ike died?


End file.
